Red Star OS
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The desktop of Red Star OS 3.0, localized with North Korean terminology and spelling
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| Developer | Korea Computer Center, North Korea |
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| OS family | Unix-like |
| Latest release | 3.0 |
| Marketing target | Workstations, servers |
| Available in | Korean (North Korean standard) |
| Platforms | i386 (x86) |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
| Default user interface | KDE 3 |
Red Star OS (Chosŏn'gŭl: 붉은별; MR: Pulgŭnbyŏl) is a North Korean Linux-based operating system. Development started in 2002 at the Korea Computer Center (KCC). Prior to its development, computers in North Korea typically used English versions of Microsoft Windows,[1] - indeed it appears that the majority still use Windows XP.[2]
Version 3.0 was released in the summer of 2013, but as of 2014[update] version 2.5 continues to be more widely used. It is only offered in a Korean language edition, localized with North Korean terminology and spelling.[3]
Specifications[edit]
Red Star OS features a modified Mozilla Firefox browser titled Naenara used for browsing the Naenara web portal on the North Korean intranet network known as Kwangmyong. Other software includes a text editor, an e-mail client, audio and video players, and games.[4] Version 3, like its predecessor, runs Wine, a piece of software that allows Windows programs to be run under Linux.[5]
Red Star OS 3.0, like its predecessors, uses a KDE 3 desktop. However, 3.0 more closely resembles Apple's OS X whereas previous versions more closely resembled Windows XP; current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was seen with an iMac on his desk in a 2013 photo, indicating a possible connection to the redesign.[4][6][7]
Media attention[edit]
The Japan-based, North Korea-affiliated newspaper Choson Sinbo interviewed two Red Star OS programmers in June 2006.[1] In February 2010, a Russian international student at the Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang purchased a copy and posted about it on his LiveJournal account; Russian television station RT then picked up his LiveJournal post and translated it into English.[4] English-language technology blogs, including Engadget and Osnews, as well as South Korean wire services such as Yonhap, went on to repost the content.[3][8][9] In late 2013, Will Scott, who was visiting the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, purchased a copy of version 3 from a KCC retailer in southern Pyongyang, and uploaded screenshots to the internet.[5]
In 2015, two German researchers speaking at the Chaos Communication Congress[10] described the internal operation of the OS.[11] The North Korean government wants to track the underground market of USB flash drives used to exchange foreign movies, music and writing,[12] and the system watermarks all files on portable media attached to computers.[13]
See also[edit]
- Nova (operating system), a national operating system for Cuba
References[edit]
- ^ a b Kim, Chi-yong (2006-06-21), "〈민족정보산업의 부흥 -상-〉 《우리식 콤퓨터조작체계(OS) 》의 개발과 도입", Choson Sinbo (in Korean), retrieved 2006-03-03
- ^ Jeremy Wagstaff and James Pearson (27 December 2015). "Paranoid: North Korea’s Computer Operating System Mirrors Its Political One". Reuters.
- ^ a b Nam, Hyeon-ho (2010-03-03), 北, 독자적 컴퓨터 운영체제 '붉은별' 개발, Yonhap News (in Korean), retrieved 2013-01-23
- ^ a b c "North Korea’s "secret cyber-weapon": brand new Red Star OS", RT, 2010-03-01, retrieved 2013-01-23
- ^ a b Williams, Martyn (January 31, 2014). "North Korea's Red Star OS Goes Mac". North Korea Tech. Martyn Williams. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ^ "Apple's Mac OS X imitated in latest North Korea system". BBC News. 2014-02-05.
- ^ "North Korean computers get 'Apple' makeover". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ^ Holwerda, Thom (2009-03-04), "North Korea Develops Its Own Linux Distribution", OSNews, retrieved 2013-01-23
- ^ Flatley, Joseph L. (2009-03-04), "North Korea's Red Star OS takes the 'open' out of 'open source'", Engadget, retrieved 2013-01-23
- ^ Florian Grunow; Niklaus Schiess (2015-12-28). Lifting the Fog on Red Star OS - A deep dive into the surveillance features of North Korea's operating system. Chaos Communication Congress 32.
- ^ Jeremy Wagstaff and James Pearson (27 December 2015). "Paranoid: North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its political one". Reuters.
- ^ James Pearson (27 March 2015). "The $50 device that symbolizes a shift in North Korea". Reuters.
- ^ "RedStar OS Watermarking". Insinuator.
External links[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Red Star OS. |
- "OS "Red Star" - линуксоиды всех стран, соединяйтесь!" (in Russian). 2010-02-27.
- 北 컴퓨터운영체제 붉은별 첫 분석 (in Korean).
